LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 116, 2 February 1918, Page 13

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

"The Fiory Cross," That Mr. John Oxenliam's religious verse—verse often possessing a war connection—has achieved a quite aston. lshing popularity is proved by the fact that of the collection entitled "Tho King's Highway," reviewed in these columns last year, no fewer than 105,000 copies have been sold. A previous collection, "All's Well," is now m its 175 th thousand. The latest of Mr. Oxenliam's now so well known little paper-backed volumes is entitled "Tlie Fiery Cross; Some Verse for To-Day" (Metlmen and Co.). As in the earlier collections, Mr. Oxenliam's verse breathes a spirit of patient, unswerving hope and faith in the ultimate triumph of the forces of Truth and Righteousness, and preaches the gospel of:truly Christian fortitude and of devout reliance upon the wisdom and mercy of the Almighty. "A Little Te Deum for Those W'ho Have Lost" sounds a note which will find a responsive echo in many an afflicted parental heart in this country; .'■or manly courage under grievous loss; For faith of woman bowed lieneatli her cross, For Hoyo that bravely glowed 'neath stormy, skies; For Love that suffered untold agonies With saintly fortitude, ami, tempest-tost And sore bestead, yet never lost Her hold on God, and His high promises; For noble deeds as simple duty done, In their Christ-likeness known to God alone-; For high heroic bearing nuder stress; For hearts that no ill-fortune could depress ; For every helpful word and kindly deed That found occasion in its brother's need; For that .Brute Force is from its saddle hurled, And that the Sword no more can l'ulo the world; For growth of wisdom through this mire of war, Which leaves Thee more than . ever Conqueror; For that the world has found iU soul again And set its heel upon the -'.urse of Cain; For that Thy Justice is again And War as arbiter henceforth abhorred; For that the dear lives were not. given in vain, Despite the anguish of our loss and pain— Wc thank Thee, Lord! W r e thank Thee, Lord! War incidents at Mossinos and elsewhere form the subject of gome of tho poems. The beautiful lines entitled "Only a Stretcher Bearer," are dedicated to "J.lv.W 7 .," of Sydney, 'New South Wales, and all his fellows." The poem, which is prefaced by General Birdwood's declaration; "If I had a hundred Victoria . Crosses to distribute every one of them should go to tho stretcher bearers," runs as follows: — Only a stretcher bearer! Only! But his life was high, And higher still his death. His loyalty and perfect faith Did his Great Captain magnify, And his high death Was more heroical. . . Than tho most stoical of' lighting men's; For, like the-Christ, he-gave TTis life men's lives to save. • He imd a -passion for lifMavi.ng, An all lMiqiienchable craving That no most murderous fire Could check, no labours tire. Out there between the lines Ho toiled unceasingly, Sorting the living from the dead Nor ever stayed • To count the risk? that round him playEnoi'ti' for him that broken men iay there, Vpfvlins hi' care; To sncour then, he for himseli No thought did spare. . How many their lives to .'.mi, No mail shall tell. Over tjie lon, in tho half-lignt dim, Tnto the fiery hell, TTu'fMit, he went Sedan® Ihem there, , And, to the depths of their despair, Cnme like an answered prayer. , Tlien, Tvh"n his own turn came, He passed, with heart aflame, To claim the full and meet reward Of one who. both in life and death, He'l served, his Lord. Mr Oxenliam's latest verses will doubtless he as well received by tho reading public as were their predecessors. (N.Z. Price, Is; 6d.) Strav Leaves. All 'who l oad John. Minefield's ''Gallipoli," in which and spiritual side of war is reflected ,1 " ,ro convincingly than in any other of tho hundreds of books which have dealt with tho Great War, will be glad to know that a new book from Mr. Mascßeld's pen, dealing with the struggle on tlie csteni front, should soon be oil sale in New Zealand. Tlie which is entitled "The Old Line, deals more particularly with tho British positions on the Sommo as tlicy were before the beginning of the great battle in July, 1916. The New Zpalandcrs' occupation of Samoa is the subject of a new book by Lieutenant L. P. Keavy. The titie is "The New Zealanders in Samoa." Tn addition to describing the occupation of the enemy's possessions in the Eastern Pacific at the beginning of the war, tho author discusses the extent of German influence generally in the Pacific. lleinemiuni's, who have purchased the copyright in Swinburne's works, promise for early publication popular editions, in pocket form, of the "Poems ahd Ballads," first and second series; "Songs Before Sunrise," • including "Songs of Italy;" "Atalanta of Calydon," and "31'rechthcus"; and Tristram of Lyonncssc." After tho war a complete new library edition of Swinburne's works will be issued by the same firm. The late Mr. Noel Ross's new hook, "The House Party Manual," is, _ it seems, a purely humorous production. The author describes the humours of such a house party as that of Lady Fox Trott, of Rotten Tqwers, Icddup, Wilts, one of tho hostesses "who have done so much to ease tho lot of the convalescent soldier from overseas." The "Times" speaks well of tho hook, which possesses a supplementary attraction in a series of amusing drawings by Mr. George Morrow, the famous "Punch" artist. Cassells publish tho little book at' tho moderate price of a shilling. Gilbert Cannan, the clever novelist, whose "Old Mole," "Round the Corner," and "Mendel"—the last-named a really brilliant study of artist- life in London—have been so popular, has made a new departure, having written a history of the British Empire between the Boer War and the Great War, in tho form of a verse narrative, an epic in ten cantos and an introduction. Tho first part is a picture of English life in 1914, "satirically weighing and measuring lifo as it was before the war." Tho author makes "an attempt to trace tho causes of the war and the forces that make politics fantastic and so incredibly remote from any reality recognisable by the light of day." Tho poom runs into the protentous length of 600 pages, and is to be published serially, in monthly part?,